England head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 36-man squad, that will prepare throughout the week at England’s training camp in Bagshot, for the incoming Test against Scotland. Borthwick has put to bed (for now, at least) any speculation around a return for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, as the Exeter Chiefs wing has not been named within the group for this training week.
Find your local Greene King and settle in for the 2025 Six Nations!
The flyer looks set for a weekend of well deserved rest and relaxation, with no Premiership Rugby Cup fixtures scheduled for Exeter Chiefs. The focus now fully returns to the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, with plenty of guess-work to be done to decipher who Borthwick will pick for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland.
36-MAN ENGLAND SQUAD – UPDATE FOR SCOTLAND TEST
Forwards:
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Tom Willis (Saracens)
Backs:
Oscar Beard (Harlequins)
Elliot Daly (Saracens)
Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Borthwick will be looking to keep the momentum rolling for his side, after a milestone victory last time out, as England achieved a shock win against the odds over France at the Allianz Stadium. England are off the mark in the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, thanks to the last ditch heroics of Elliot Daly, and the on-point marksmanship of England’s newest back line-leader Fin Smith.
All eyes have now turned to Scotland, with England preparing to end their run of consecutive defeats to Gregor Townsend’s side. The Calcutta Cup has begun to collect dust after being sat in the Scottish trophy cabinet for the past four years, with England adamant to get the iconic piece of silverware back down to the south side of the border on Saturday. All the while, the Scots eye up a historic fifth win in a row against their old Anglo enemies, and send Borthwick’s men back to the drawing board ‘tae think again’.
Here is an updated look at who we think Borthwick will select, after the latest 36-man squad was named on Sunday evening.
UPDATED SQUAD PREDICTION: STEVE BORTHWICK’S ENGLAND TEAM TO FACE SCOTLAND – 2025 GUINNESS MEN’S SIX NATIONS
BACK THREE
15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
11. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
With Manny Feyi-Waboso now out of the training squad, Borthwick can start to craft up the proverbial ‘plan B’ as no return is in store just yet for the Exeter wing. Ollie Sleightholme was impressive upon his return to the England squad last week, as he showcased both his revered attacking intensity and a fearlessness for the ‘argy bargy’ of the Test match stage. Whilst Sleightholme’s altercation with France wing Damien Penaud took the immediate spotlight, the Saints man lit up the pitch with some excellent line breaks, and expressed his claim to the eleven jersey for the Calcutta Cup clash.
In Feyi-Waboso’s continued absence, Sleightholme has emerged as the next best left wing option for Borthwick to unleash along the touchline. We’ve predicted the 15 and 14 shirts to remain unchanged from the side that beat France, with Marcus Smith and Tommy Freeman returning to the starting XV. Whilst Smith had an underwhelming afternoon from the kicking tee, the Harlequin lit up the Allianz with some devastating kick returns deep from the back-field.
Freeman was also excellent in the win over Les Bleus, with his stand-out moment being a top-rate try, as he collaborated with his Saints teammate Fin Smith, to collect and ground a kick to the corner. Freddie Steward could well slot back in to the replacement backs, and we’ve predicted the fullback to hold down the 23 shirt for Saturday’s battle with Scotland.
CENTRES
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
12. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
The tried and test midfield is once again our predicted England partnership, with Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence exuding an impressive combination against Fabien Galthie’s side. The latest squad update sees Fraser Dingwall return to the training squad, yet the Northampton Saints man is more likely to be running out for England A this weekend. The ‘A’ team are set to take on Ireland A this Sunday at Ashton Gate, with Dingwall a leading candidate to captain the side, after the midfielder skipped for Mark Mapletoft’s team against Australia A in the Autumn.
